A great book by a fantastic author. The writing is excellent and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Characters are well developed. Highly recommend.

I think maybe this story may have run its course.
Very funny but it's like so many detective fiction novels out there.

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=66055

Sand, sea, yoga... and dead bodies don't mix!
title: PRE-MEDITATED MURDER

Yoga instructor Kate Davidson is ready to marry her boyfriend Michael, so she's disappointed when a romantic birthday dinner does not end with a proposal. But Kate is shocked when she learns that Michael is already married. Michael decides to travel back to Cannon Beach, Oregon to ask his estranged wife Gabriella for a divorce. When Gabriella's battered body is found buried in the sand by Kate's dog Bella, Michael's troubles have only worsened. Michael has no alibi and is unable to remember where he was the night Gabriella died. With the help of her friends Rene, Sam and lawyer Dale, Kate is determined to find out what really happened. Obsessive love, a stalker, immigration fraud are key factors.

This is another enjoyable and strong entry in the Downward Dog Mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Midnight Ink with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Well here's what I thought...admittedly I am jumping in at book 5 but..so Kate is dating this dude and it's getting serious. They are living together that's kind of serious.
At least she thinks he's going to propose.
But he doesn't because he's already married and he didn't have the
_____ to tell her.
Seriously?
And then she goes to visit the real wife to try to get her to let him
out of the marriage.
And then the real wife is found dead.
Well that's just nuts to me. But that's just me.
And well let me just get all this out at once and then we will move
on...some others said the characters are realistic.
In what universe are we talking about?
Yes. I did like Kate and her bestie Renee and her husband but I was just thrown with the whole Michael situation.
Making me want to read the first 4 to get a little more back story.
Maybe I would have liked it better if I had read the previous books.
So, if given the chance I would read the others just to see what's up.

If your a fan of Cozy Mystery's you might check the other reviews and give this one a chance.

I received a Complimentary Copy from Great Escapes Tours and Net Galley

Pre-Meditated Murder by Tracy Weber is book five in her Downward Dog mystery series. This book can easily be read as a stand alone and I do highly recommend the entire series.
Thank you with gratitude to the publisher and author for the opportunity to review this book. My opinions are my own,.
I have read this entire series and found each book to be equally delightful and fun to read. I love the winning well crafted combination of yoga, a beautiful location and and the protagonist wonderful dog . Each book is a excellent well crafted sleuth that always keeps me guessing. I love everything about this wonderful series.

This next in series has our favorite protagonist Kate Davidson and yoga instructor at a posh dinner with her boyfriend Michael. She is expecting a proposal and instead he admits his dirty secret , he is married. She is very upset but his revelations do not end there. He is being blackmailed by his wife and unable to divorce her as a result. When the wife turns up dead, and Kate finds the body while walking her dog, Kate is on the case to clear his name and hopes they can move forward. She is exceptional at investigation and this case soon proves to be more complicated then she expected.
The location in this next in series was exceptional . The author had placed this book in beautiful Cannon Beach Oregon and her descriptions of life in Cannot Beach are sublime. The reader feels they are actually at Cannon Beach. I enjoy reading about Bella the dog and her enthusiastic energy which adds to each book. I enjoyed the twist and turns of the sleuth that kept me guessing to the very end. The added bonus of each book is information on Yoga and mindfulness which gives the reader a well rounded enjoyable reading experience while teaching us calming breaths which everyone benefits from. I love this series and look forward to the next in series. Well done to the author!

Pre-Meditated Murder
A Downward Dog Mystery #5
Tracy Weber
Midnight Ink, January 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7387-5068-2
Trade Paperback

Kate Davidson and her trusty canine companion Bella return in Pre-Meditated Murder. As the book opens, Kate and her boyfriend are celebrating Kate’s birthday at the fancy restaurant atop the Seattle Space Needle. SkyCity was the perfect place for what Kate assumed was going to be a moment of her lifetime. After avoiding any thought of “commitment, marriage or children,” Kate is ready. She is sure tonight is the night that Michael is going to pop the big question and Kate is ready to say yes. In fact, she can hardly wait to say yes. They are at the restaurant, he pulls out her gift, she opens it and-it’s a necklace. Stunned for sure, but her evening is going to get much worse.

Michael professes his love for Kate, but then proceeds to tell her that he can’t marry her, at least not yet because there is this little detail he has failed to mention before. He is already married, wants a divorce but Gabriella won’t budge without a big pay out.

Kate and Michael decide to go to Oregon to try to talk Gabriella into giving Michael the divorce. I was right with the book up until this point but then things get a little strange even for a “cozy” mystery series. They take Bella with them, BUT, here is where it goes a little wonky for me. Kate’s best friend Rene, her husband, their twins and their dogs also make the trip. Really?

Skipping ahead and overlooking that fact that entirely too many people have made the trip, Kate and Michael meet with Gabriella and the meeting goes poorly. The next day, things take an even worse turn when Kate and Bella are out for a walk and Bella digs up Gabriella’s body. Things get worse still when the police turn up at Michael’s sister’s house and Michael has no alibi for the time of the death. Obviously Michael is suspect number one on the police’s list. In keeping with the cozy mystery genre, Kate then jumps in to solve the crime and clear Michael. What Kate uncovers surprises her and changes how she thinks of Michael.

From there the book takes a few interesting twists which might well push it off the “cozy” shelf for subject matter.

The book gives readers a chance to learn more of Michael’s background while certainly wondering what is next for Kate and Michael.

Reviewed by guest reviewer Caryn St. Clair, January 2018, for Buried Under Books.

Pre-Meditated Murder by Tracy Weber is the 5th book in the Downward Dog Mystery, and my first book by this author. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the previous four books. Kate Davidson gets a shock when her boyfriend Michael tells her he is already married, and his wife, Gabrielle, wants money to divorce him. When Gabrielle turns up dead, Kate must clear Michael's name. There are twists and turns around every corner, and I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. If your looking for a fun cozy mystery I recommend this book/series.

I was given a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Although this is No 5 in the series, it can easily be a standalone. The mystery is good, the setting is wonderful (I have great memories of a too-short visit to the gorgeous Cannon Beach), and the twist at the end, unexpected. Of course there's always the need to know how people met, how they got where they are, etc. but this was a well done book and I'll definitely be looking for the first four in the series to catch up.

A bit darker and more psychological than most cozies, it is an interesting and enjoyable read.
Sometimes mystery takes the back seat and the sentimental problem are on the foreground.
Well written, quite likeable characters and a sound plot it was quite a page turner.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Midnight Ink

Kate Davidson is thrilled to be in a relationship with her boyfriend Michael. In fact, she expects to hear wedding bells ring in the very near future. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out quite the way Kate had planned. The biggest obstacle being that Michael is already married and neglected to tell Kate about it.

Michael travels to Oregon to ask his wife, Gabriella, for a divorce. Kate and her entourage of freinds, including her German Shephard Bella, make the trip with him. Of course things don’t work out exactly how they thought it would. Gabriella is willing to give Michael a divorce, but he’ll have to pay for it. Pay for it with a lot of money! Money he doesn’t have.

When Kate stumbles upon Gabriella’s dead body, she wonders if Michael could have gotten rid of his wife in another way. Gabriella’s death is ruled a murder and Michael is the prime suspect. Kate believes in Michael and vows to find out what really happened to Gabriella.

As Kate continues her investigation, she learns more and more about Gabriella and Michael’s relationship. She’s not so sure what this means for her own relationship with Michael, but first she has to keep him out of prison.

I love this series. I never expected that Michael had a secret wife. I’m not sure I liked that twist, but I couldn’t stop reading. I just had to find out how it would all end. I was completely engrossed in this one.

This is such an entertaining series with witty and fun characters. I always feel like I’m re-visiting old friends. It’s an engrossing, fast-paced story with characters I’ve come to truly care about. I especially adore the lovable canine, Bella. I can’t wait for the next one.

Okay I just totally fell in love with this book! I have enjoyed the others books in the series but this newest installment really tops the cake when it comes to the personal growth of all the characters. This time Michael has the secret that throws all their lives into chaos and things are not looking good for his relationship with Kate. As if that is not bad enough he is accused of the murder of the dead body found by Bella. There is quite a bit of drama, a captivating investigation, and a heart wrenching finale that kept me hooked until I ran out of pages to read. The inter-meshing of all of the characters was quite awesome I must admit and none of them were left out. If you enjoy cozy mystery series that feature a doggy sidekick and a business owner then you have got to try this series. I loved each and every page so it gets 5/5 stars. I wonder what will happen next?

Tracy Weber’s A Downward Dog Mystery is one my favorite cozy mystery series. While I have read all the books, they are easily standalone reads. Over the course of the series, readers have seen Kate Davidson mature and grow as a person. Kate has gone from not wanting to go on a date with Michael, to being jealous that someone else finds him attractive, to admitting she’s in love, to wanting marriage and children.

When Michael takes her to SkyCity for her thirty-fourth birthday, she’s convinced an engagement ring is in her near future. When she receives a necklace, she’s visually upset. She becomes outraged when she learns that Michael isn’t proposing marriage because he’s already married and his wife is blackmailing him for a divorce. Kate, Michael, Bella the dog, Kate’s best friend Rene, Rene’s husband Sam, and their twin humans and pups all embark on a trip to Michael’s hometown in the hopes of convincing Michael’s wife Gabriella to give him a divorce.
The first meeting with Gabriella doesn't go so well. All parties go their separate ways, only for Bella to dig up Gabriella’s body the next day. Kate knows this is bad, but has no idea things are about to get worse when police show up at Michael's sister’s house and Michael has no memory of where he was the last 16 to 18 hours. Even though Kate is furious with Michael, she knows he would never harm Gabriella. She vows to prove his innocence and brings in reinforcements.

As always, Tracy has written an incredible mystery. There's enough information to have you guessing up until the big reveal. You get introduced to some friends from Michael's past and you see why it was important for Michael to marry Gabriella. Pre-Meditated Murder is a turning point for Kate and Michael's relationship. I’m looking forward to the next book to see what's in store for these two.

**Received a copy from the Midnight Ink and voluntarily reviewed the book.**

Take a rather ordinary cozy, add a magnificent scene-stealing German Shepherd and you end up with an extraordinary story. I'm a sucker for dogs, but this one is more than just window dressing, and has an appeal even those not fond of dogs would have difficulty denying.

Kate Davidson receives an unexpected shock when an expected proposal is replaced with an unexpected confession. Her boyfriend Michael is married, and his wife won't accept a divorce unless he pays her off. Kate, Michael and Company travel to see her, but hopes of an amicable settlement are quickly dispersed when Kate and her dog Bella find his wife’s body and Michael becomes the police’s chief suspect. Once again Kate and Rene have their hands full investigating a murder.

Pre-Meditated Murder is a cute cozy that will appeal to dog lovers and mystery lovers alike. It is a terrific addition to Tracy Weber’s series. I'm definitely a fan of Bella and her human.

4 / 5

I received a copy of Pre-Meditated Murder from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Dollycas’s Thoughts

In this fifth Downward Dog Mystery, Kate, Michael, Bella along with Rene and her entire family including twin babies and twin dogs hit the road and travel to Oregon. Kate was expecting a proposal but then Michael drops the bomb that he is already married and that his wife is blackmailing him. Furious with Michael she shuts him out but when he decides to go talk to his wife the whole gang goes along. After one chilly meeting with the woman, Kate is unsure what to think. But then Bella later finds the woman dead on the beach, Kate panics, she knows Michael is going to the prime suspect. After a few deep cleansing breaths Kate and Rene team up to find out what really happened much to the despair of Michael’s lawyer, her friend, and her mother’s significant other.

I have been waiting for this book since I finished the last one, so I fixed myself a beverage and a little snack and settled in to read. A few hours later I reached the end and reentered society 🙂 feeling that time must have flown by. From the moment Michael told Kate he was already married I was sucked right into the pages. I was livid for her, how could he have kept that kind of thing secret?

The author took us on quite a journey to first track down the wife and then find her murderer, all while taking care of two infants and 3 dogs. I was kept extremely entertained. These characters are realistic, fun, smart, determined and very centered most of the time. I love the role Bella plays in each mystery. He is is a very special, caring dog that has a nose for dead bodies while being a true canine companion for Kate. Even this time when he meets a polydactyl cat named Mouse he adjusts and comes to love the kitty. Kate and Bella are so good for each other.

This story really hit me on an emotional level. I am not sure I would have been able to be as strong as Kate. She put her hurt feelings aside to save a man who didn’t trust her enough to be truthful and his first words after he told her were like a stake in the heart. This added to the mystery of who killed his wife made this just a compelling read. There were several suspects, a cop that refused to look beyond Michael, and a whole bunch of twists and turns until the truth is revealed. The author also weaves the yoga theme throughout the whole complex mystery. This story is so well written.

I believe to get the full experience of this story you need to read Kate’s story from the beginning, but with that said Tracy Weber has written this story in a way that it can stand on its own.

Pre-Meditated Murder: A Downward Dog Mystery
By Tracy Weber
Midnight Ink
January 2018

Review by Cynthia Chow

This was certainly not the birthday yoga instructor Kate Davidson expected. Instead of receiving an engagement ring in Seattle Space Needle’s SkyCity restaurant, Kate is blindsided by a series of harsh truths. The coveted jewelry box contains not a ring but locket, her boyfriend Michael Massey never expected that Kate would even want to get married, and by the way, he already has a wife. Michael quickly adds that it was a marriage to keep Gabriella Massey from being deported to Mexico, making it illegal but not immoral. Kate is justifiably furious that Michael neglected to impart this little bit of information after nine months of living together, which is why he promises to convince Gabriella to allow them to divorce. Kate’s best friend Rene isn’t about to let Michael travel to Oregon’s Cannon Beach and meet with his wife unescorted, so she, her husband Sam, human twins, and labradoodle twin puppies follow along; Kate is only a reluctant participant. Kate is even more leery when she discovers that the former model from Mexico demands a massive payment from Michael, causing him to become uncharacteristically angry and drunk.

The confrontation between Michael and Gabriella doesn’t go unnoticed, and it doesn’t look good for him when Kate once again has the bad fortune to discover a body. Local police are biased and intent on punishing Michael before a trial, and every new bit of evidence that emerges seems to further implicate him. Kate already has her hands full with her anxiety-prone German shepherd Bella, whose restrictive diet demands careful monitoring and a lot of attention. Bella exuberantly inserts herself in everyone’s lives much to the delight of readers, if not always to Kate and those with clean floors. As someone with her own share of psychological issues, Kate will find that trusting Michael enough to forgive will be nearly as challenging as uncovering a murderer.

This fifth in the series sees Kate and Bella still dealing with their own health concerns, but also learning to rely on their loved ones for support. They still share a fear of beards, and Kate has her anger management problems, but yoga is helping her to stretch out her hostility. Rene and Sam are an absolute joy in this novel, as the two millionaire entrepreneurs cleverly insert humor as well as investigative assistance. Their levity balances out a very troubled Kate, especially as she doubts the innocence of Michael and those closest to him. Readers will be drawn into this novel for Bella’s antics, the celebration of pets, and the exuberant banter between the friends. This mystery satisfies on so many levels, from the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Festival to its over-the-top pet accessories, concluding on a note that will warm the coldest of hearts.

Life throws Kate a very unwanted curve at dinner with her live-in boyfriend Michael. She was expecting their relationship to move to the next level with a proposal and a ring. When it doesn't happen, Kate confronts him and finds out things most unsettling....he has an estranged wife living in Oregon. Their next step is to take a road trip down to Oregon where she lives. Right into another murder and trying to keep Michael out of prison. His estranged wife is the victim and he has no alibi. Kate and Rene are not new to investigating murders (this is book #5) and along with friends, family and, of course, Kate's German Shepard, Bella the fight for Michael's freedom and find the killer.
This is one of my favorite series and this entry can be read out of order but, do yourself a favor and read them all. You won't be disappointed.

This is a great book; this is the fifth book in the Downward Dog Mystery Series written by Tracy Weber. This book can be read as a standalone, but once you read it you will defiantly want to go back and catch up with the other book in this series. Yoga instructor Kate Davidson is ready to marry her boyfriend Michael, so she's disappointed when a special dinner doesn't end with a proposal. But disappointment turns to dismay and outrage as she learns the real problem: Michael is already married and his estranged wife is blackmailing him. When his wife's body is found--by Kate and her dog, no less, Michael is strangely unable to remember where he was the night she died. Since Michael has no alibi, Kate steps up to uncover what happened. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

The adventures of Kate, Michael, and Bella continue with book five in the Downward Dog Mysteries. I love seeing what Bella gets in to and how she seems to get Kate into situations that she would rather avoid. I also was intrigued to find out what was going to happen with Michael and is not so ex wife. Kate has to get past her original feelings to help Michael to get everything settled and of course everything is not going to go smoothly. A great read.
I received a copy from the author, the review is my own.